Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
(Coccyzus americanus)

Breeding often coincides with the appearance of massive numbers of cicadas, caterpillars, or other large insects

Number of Eggs:

1-5

Official Status:

Proposed Threatened

Life History:

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo develops incredibly quickly. The entire period from egg laying to fledgling leaving the nest lasts only 17 days. On day six or seven after hatching, the feathers of the young burst out of their sheaths, allowing the nestling to become fully feathered in two hours.

Distribution and Habitat:

Open woodlands with clearings and dense scrubby vegetation, often along water.

Common in southeastern United States, but populations declining throughout range. Rare in West and declining. Gone from some areas. Listed as endangered in California where development is disrupting the riparian woodlands in which it lives.

Threats:

Adult threats are birds of prey (hawks, falcons, and raptors) and eggs threats are other birds or rodents (blue jays and chipmunks) and development of habitat by humans